Cabbage Patch Settlement House Records

Collection Items

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  Photograph of Cabbage Patch Settlement House children and faculty in Washington D.C with Senator Morton, 1966

  A photograph of children and faculty from the Louisville, Kentucky Cabbage Patch Settlement House outside of an unspecified government building in Washington D.C with Kentucky Senator Thruston Ballard Morton. Two copies of this picture are in file; one copy dates the photograph to the August of 1966 while the other copy dates the photograph to the September of the same year. Notes in the Cabbage Patch file indicate that the Cabbage Patch children took camping trips to Washington D.C on at least five occasions; senator Morton hosted the Cabbage Patch children twice. This is the second trip that was hosted by Morton, the first having taken place in 1962. Senator Morton is in the far right of the photograph. Also included in the photograph is Roosevelt Chin, a lifetime Cabbage Patch faculty member, who can be found in the top center of the photograph. Also included in the photograph is Joe Burks, a Cabbage Patch coach and organizer, who is visible in the far left of the photograph with glasses on.
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  Photograph of a Cabbage Patch Settlement House Biblical Play, 1950s or 1960s

  Photograph of children and faculty at the Louisville, Kentucky Cabbage Patch Settlement House and arranged around a table; they appear to be replicating the last supper. They are in costume. The picture is not dated. In interviews, lifelong Cabbage Patch faculty member Roosevelt Chin claimed that the Cabbage Patch would put on multiple extravagant Bible story plays on holidays. These plays would be written by Roosevelt Chin and Mrs. John R. Green, who ran the Cabbage Patch Sewing School. Sceneries would by constructed by Roosevelt Chin and the Sewing School children; the costumes would be made from scraps collected from rummage sales by the Sewing School children.
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  Photograph of Cabbage Patch Settlement House children and faculty in Washington D.C with Senator Morton, 1962

  A photograph of children and faculty from the Louisville, Kentucky Cabbage Patch Settlement House drinking soda and sitting on the floor in the office of Louisville Senator Thruston Ballard Morton in Washington D.C. An inscription on the bottom of the photograph dates the photograph to the August of 1962. Notes in the Cabbage Patch file indicate that the Cabbage Patch children took camping trips to Washington D.C on at least five occasions; senator Morton hosted the Cabbage Patch children twice. This 1962 trip to D.C was allegedly the only Cabbage Patch camping trip attended by Cabbage Patch founder Louise Marshall. Miss Marshall can be found in the far left of this photograph. Also in this photograph, also on the left side, is Roosevelt Chin, a lifelong worker for the Cabbage Patch. Senator Morton is at the top of the photograph, near the center, in a dark suit and tie.
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  Photograph of children and Santa Claus at Cabbage Patch Christmas party, 1979

  A Polaroid photograph of a little girl with a Santa Claus at the annual Cabbage Patch Christmas party. The back of the photograph dates the photograph to 1979. According to the lifetime Cabbage Patch worker Roosevelt Chin, Cabbage Patch Christmas parties were often "sponsored by one of the companies in the neighborhood." A letter from early 1980 suggests that this particular Christmas party was hosted by the Martin Sweets Company.
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  Cabbage Patch football team, 1956

  A photograph of the Cabbage Patch Settlement House football team, dated 1956. The team includes both Black and white children. The Cabbage Patch Settlement House desegregated their football team in the 50s. In interviews, the lifetime Cabbage Patch worker Roosevelt Chin claimed that the Cabbage Patch was "the very first" youth group in Louisville to desegregate. One member of this desegregated football team, Sherman Lewis, would go on to become a Super Bowl winning offensive coach.
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  Interview with Roosevelt Chin, 2002

  Transcript of an oral history interview with Roosevelt Chin (1933-2007) conducted by interviewer Sloane Graff in the spring of 2002. Chin discusses his parents's immigration to the United States and their lives as Chinese restaurant owners in Louisville, Kentucky. He recounts his childhood association with Cabbage Patch Settlement House and his later paid work there, beginning in 1953.
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  Male High School pennant

  A pennant from Male High School, a public school in Louisville, Kentucky. This pennant was owned by Roosevelt Chin, a Chinese American from Louisville, Kentucky who worked with the Cabbage Patch Settlement House for over fifty years. The pennant is made of felt. It is purple with gold lettering and a gold strip across the leftmost side. Roosevelt Chin graduated from Male High School in 1951.
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  Roosevelt Chin passport, 1957

  A United States passport issued to Roosevelt Chin, a Chinese American student from Louisville, Kentucky who worked with the Cabbage Patch Settlement House for over fifty years. The passport is from 1957, when Chin traveled to Hong Kong; stamps from Hong Kong are found in the passport. Chin would later say that he always wanted to visit China, but that Hong Kong was the closest that he ever came. Hong Kong was under British authority at the time and the United States Department of State forbade passage to Communist China; a notice on the inside of the passport warns that the passport is not valid for travel to any nations "under Communist control."
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  Interview with Roosevelt Chin, Part 2 of 2, March 1987

  The second portion of an interview with Roosevelt Chin (1933-2007), a lifetime worker at the Cabbage Patch Settlement House in Louisville, Kentucky. Interview conducted by Keith Cardwell. The interview duration is one hour exactly. Contains racial slurs. Chin recounts a time when he was young and tried to walk to the Cabbage Patch, only to get lost in the city. Chin describes the Protestant founder of the Cabbage Patch, Louise Marshall (1888-1981), and recalls her lack of trust of Catholics. Chin recalls his negative experiences with Lloyd Redman (d. 2013), an athletics coach at the Cabbage Patch. Chin describes his early jobs at the Cabbage Patch and at Miss Marshall’s home, as well as his early impressions of Miss Marshall. Chin describes the conflicts between himself and other staff members, namely Charles Dietsch (1932-2020) and Jim Cooksey (d. 2015), after Miss Marshall became inactive in the early eighties. Chin discusses the establishment of a new board and the hiring of executive director Tracy Holladay at that time. Chin describes how the Cabbage Patch got its name in the early 1910s, as well as the settlement house’s connection to famous author Alan Hegan Rice (1870-1942). Chin describes the impact that the Cabbage Patch and Miss Marshall had upon himself and his entire family. Chin briefly describes the daycare and the well-baby clinic. Chin briefly details the Cabbage Patch as it existed in the 70s and the impact of the summer program director Rod Napier upon various activities at that time.
  
  For the first portion of the interview, see https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/items/show/7008
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  Interview with Roosevelt Chin, Part 1 of 2, February-March, 1987

  The first of a two-part interview with Roosevelt Chin (1933-2007), a lifetime worker at the Cabbage Patch Settlement House in Louisville, Kentucky. Interview conducted by Keith Cardwell. The interview duration is one hour and thirty-four seconds. Chin describes his college years and the transition from being a full-time student to accepting a full-time leadership position at the Cabbage Patch Settlement House. Chin describes the various theatrical productions and parties that he helped organize at the Cabbage Patch. Chin describes the innerworkings of the Sewing School. Chin opines on how the changes in school bussing schedules brought about a low period for the Cabbage Patch. Chin describes the process by which Black people were integrated into the Cabbage Patch in the late 1950s. Chin describes the years of declining health in the life of the founder of the Cabbage Patch, Louise Marshall (1888-1981). Chin details the responsibilities to Miss Marshall which were put upon him and other Cabbage Patch staff members who were close to Miss Marshall during her final years. Chin describes the conflicts between board members and staff members of the Cabbage Patch after Miss Marshall became inactive in the early 1980s.
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  Mother's Club Christmas Party, December 1924

  From left standing: Miss Grace Pollock, Leader; Mrs. Forsch; Miss Margaret Speed, Head Resident. Others in picture include Mrs. Hattie Lynam, Mrs. William Lynam, Mrs. Ed. LaDuke, Mrs. Thomas Montgomery
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  Children in a production of Cinderella, 1918

  Photograph of the cast of Cinderella at Cabbage Patch Settlement House. Plays were a popular activity for the youth at The Cabbage Patch; the girls created elaborate costumes for this production of Cinderella in 1918.
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  Louise Marshall passport photograph, 1918

  The passport photo of Louise Marshall from 1918. Louise Marshall was the founder of the Cabbage Patch Settlement House; she took a break from her work with the institution to join the Red Cross efforts in France after World War I.
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  Photograph of Cabbage Patch Settlement House, circa 1910

  Photograph of the exterior of Cabbage Patch Settlement House.
  The first Cabbage Patch Settlement House built for the purpose was constructed in late 1910 or early 1911, at 1461 Ninth Street (the second house from Burnett). In an interview, founder Louise Marshall remembered, “There was just one room and a closet on the first floor, and then at the back of the house you went upstairs to the second floor. We had a side yard that we played in and we had the first floor as a playroom and the upstairs we fixed for living quarters…. Upstairs we had, in addition to the living quarters, a children’s library and an adult library that was a branch of the public library.”